Columnists: Marc Karell

Marc Karell is the owner of Climate Change & Environmental Services. CCES can help you along the way with the technical, planning and financial details of installing a solar PV to enable you to reduce your energy costs significantly.

On Feb. 2, President Obama released his fiscal year 2016 budget, including money for his climate change agenda, which includes efforts for the US to reduce its greenhouse gas emissions and to manage adaptation efforts to climate change effects. Items include offering incentives for states to reduce their reliance on coal-fired power; $1.29 billion for …Continue Reading

This will likely go down as a banner year as the USEPA proposed, for the first time, national standards to limit emissions of greenhouse gases (GHGs) from existing power plants: the Clean Power Plan. However this turns out in terms of the legislative process in Washington, the federal government has certainly provided the signals that clean …Continue Reading

The US Energy Information Administration (EIA) publishes nationwide and regional energy use data. While changes from year to year are not great, a longer view reveals a lot. From 2007 to 2013, total US energy use dropped 5%, while the GDP rose 6%. The US is becoming more energy efficient. Our mix of energy sources …Continue Reading

Your operations – whether you manage one or several office buildings or industrial facilities – depend on electricity. You don’t have electricity, your company does not function. It’s as simple as that. Whether at home or at work, we are used to paying for electricity by how much we use (kilowatt-hours, kWh). Makes sense; you …Continue Reading

Buildings in NYC and elsewhere have undergone a “complete 360” when it comes to energy practices, costs, and usage. It used to be that buildings had no motivation to be more energy efficient; costs were just spread out to tenants who just accepted and paid the expenses as part of their rent or lease agreement. …Continue Reading

I was fortunate to have been the construction and environmental manager for the largest conversion from No. 6 oil to natural gas so far in NYC. Three large boilers, providing heat and domestic hot water for 8 high-rise apartment buildings and other areas, were upgraded in preparation for the fuel switch. It is now two …Continue Reading

As an energy, sustainability, and environmental consultant, I am constantly “pitching” projects to clients who can really benefit. Not benefit by saving the polar bear or the Amazon Rain Forest, but generating direct financial benefits. Not hypothetical or “blackboard,” but with real-life case studies. Convincing, overwhelming. I used to think this was a slam dunk …Continue Reading

President Obama has tried to work with Congress to develop a national energy plan, climate change rules, and renewable energy standards that will encourage business and local job creation, and save costs. But there has been no success, as Congress has been wont to pass any measure. For example, IRS code 179D, giving businesses that …Continue Reading

For a growing number of EHS professionals, energy management has also been put on their plate. Companies now understand that energy efficiency is a great opportunity for cost savings and raising competitiveness. According to the US DOE, energy costs are one-third an average building’s total operating cost, and its largest controllable cost. But many building …Continue Reading

The US has gone through a major change in its fuel supplies in a short time. A decade ago, the US was planning infrastructure upgrades in order to import large quantities of liquified natural gas. Now, we are producing so much of it that we are a net exporter. Advantages of Switching to Natural Gas …Continue Reading